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Worked Examples · Example 7.11

Q.H2S is less acidic than H2Te. Why?

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Step 1 — Trend in central atom size.

Down Group 16 the atomic radius increases: O<S<Se<TeO < S < Se < Te.

Step 2 — Effect on bond dissociation enthalpy.

As the central atom becomes larger, the H–E bond becomes longer and the orbital overlap with hydrogen's 1s orbital becomes poorer, so the bond dissociation enthalpy decreases:

H2O>H2S>H2Se>H2Te(bond enthalpy order)H_2O > H_2S > H_2Se > H_2Te \quad (\text{bond enthalpy order})

Step 3 — Link to acidic strength.

Acidic strength of a binary hydride in water depends on how easily the H–E bond breaks heterolytically to release H+H^+. A weaker (lower enthalpy) bond breaks more readily, so acidic strength increases down the group: …

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